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When the weather turns chilly, it’s hard to beat the appeal of a one-pot meal simmering on the stove. Be it the sight (and sound) of food cooking, or the aroma that wafts through the house, these things bring us instantaneous comfort. In addition, for the busy cook, one-dish meals are time-efficient, offering the greatest reward for the least effort. Whether you’re fixing supper for yourself or your family, or preparing a meal for company, one-dish meals are equally at home. Casual meals are flexible, too, and may be adjusted according to budget, preference, dietary needs and – the season.

It’s impossible to miss that the holidays are coming. From Halloween costumes and pumpkins for making pies, to ornaments for Christmas trees, dreidels and candles for Kwanzaa, store shelves are already filling up. If you’re a baker, one of the things you look forward to the most come the holidays, is baking cookies, among them sugar cookies and spritz-type cookies, made with a cookie gun, for decorating.

Each year, families visit the local pumpkin patch to choose the ideal candidate for carving into a jack-o’-lantern. For the purposes of cooking and baking, small “sugar” pumpkins are also selected, with a two-pound pumpkin being about right for making an average size cake, pie or side dish. If you’ve ever used fresh pumpkin for making a recipe, you already know that the seeds and fibers must first be removed from the pumpkin before its flesh can be cooked, cooled and mashed for use.

Sisters and best-selling authors, Judi and Shari Zucker (also known as the “Double Energy Twins),” have written an uncommon cookbook which addresses a common problem – preparing meals for any occasion for folks living with food allergies.

Like you, I’ve made deviled eggs countless times, but never quite like the ones that fill the pages of celebrated chef and cookbook author Kathy Casey’s “D’Lish Deviled Eggs: A Collection of Recipes from Creative to Classic.” My mother, and perhaps yours, made deviled eggs with little more than mayonnaise, dry mustard and a little salt and pepper. As I recall, they were frequently garnished with the prerequisite sprinkling of paprika – and they always disappeared fast.

If you love eating any dish that includes melted cheese, today would be an especially good day to indulge yourself; September 3 is National Welsh Rarebit Day. While the origin of the name for the cheese and toast tavern snack remains uncertain, what is certain is that Welsh Rarebit, or as it is also called, Welsh Rabbit, does not contain any rabbit.

If you read the front inside flap of 2004’s “Star Palate: Celebrity Cookbook for a Cure,” you will discover that cookbook author, Tami Agassi, “was a 30-year-old breast cancer survivor when she dreamed up Star Palate as a way to promote awareness of breast and ovarian cancer and to raise funds to fight for a cure.” Teaming with renowned chef and gifted author Kathy Casey (owner of Kathy Casey Food Studios® - Liquid Kitchen®, as well as Dish D’Lish), Agassi’s idea took root and many celebrities embraced the initiative by submitting stories and recipes.

Even folks who say that can’t make pie, especially a two-crust pie, can achieve success with “All Butter Crust Fresh Blueberry Pie.” Well-chilled butter makes it easy not to overwork the pie dough, resulting in a flaky, tender crust, which can be shaped by hand, or with the help of a food processor. The dough rolls well and is easily managed for placement in a pie dish, the point at which things can begin to go terribly wrong for would-be pie makers. The filling is a straightforward mix of blueberries, lemon zest, sugar, cinnamon and a bit of salt, with cornstarch used as thickener.

If you’re into gardening, your yard is probably burgeoning with fresh herbs. And, if you don’t garden, supermarkets make fresh herbs available pre-cut and packaged, or packed in soil-filled pots. There’s hardly a dish that can’t be enhanced with fresh herbs, whether the herb is placed on, in, or literally alongside food as nothing more than garnish. The herbs, or combinations of herbs, that add excitement and complex flavor to our foods is endless, and each of us has a preference.